Plural rotatable discs chance device

ABSTRACT

A plurality of of indicia bearing discs are rotatably supported in a windowed casing. The discs are indexed by ratchet wheels and pawls. Manual turning of a handle against spring tension in one direction moves the pawls in a circular arc with the pawls moving the ratchet wheels and discs therewith. The pawls on nearing the end of their circular arc contact one end of a pivoted timer lever having a suction cup thereon so as to press the suction cup against the casing. When the handle is released, the spring tension moves the pawls in the opposite direction with the pawls moving the ratchet wheels and discs therewith. On the pawls nearing the end of their circular arc in this opposite direction, they contact the other end of the suction held timer lever and are pivoted out of contact with the ratchet wheels which lets the discs spin freely. On sufficient air entering the suction cup through a adjustable air valve, the suction cup releases, thereby pivoting the timer lever out of contact with the pawls which then let the pawls pivot into contact with the ratchet wheels to index the discs. A knob controlled cam may be utilized to pivot one of the pawls out of engagement with its ratchet wheel so that seond handle can be used to rotate the disc associated therewith with respect to the other indexed discs.

United States Patent [1 1 Vigan [451 May 14, 1974 1 1 PLURAL ROTATABLE DISCS CHANCE DEVICE [76] inventor: Elaine G. Vigan, 1932 Weepah Way, Hollywood, Calif. 90027 {22] Filed: Aug. 25, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 174,726

521 U.S.Cl. ..273/l42HA,273/l42JD, V, M 273/143 R,273/o1o. 25 51 in. C1. .,A63t5/04 [58] Field of Search... 273/142 JD, 142 H, 142 HA, 273/142 R, 142 A, 142 B, 142 C,142 D, 142

15,142 F, 142 G, 142 1,142 JA, 14218, 142

.1C, 142 K, 143 D, 143 R, 143 A, 143 B, 143

C, 143 E, 138 R138 A; 35/3 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,701,741 2/1929 Watling 273/142 R X 2,120,439 6/1938 Jamison 273/143 R X 1,954,700 4/1934 Hannan et a1 273/143 R X 2,555,010 5/1951 Schnabolk i i. 273/143 R 2,641,473 /1953 Stalter 273/138 A 2,888,265 5/1959 Wagner..... 273/142 R 3,508,755 4/1970 Johnson 273/145 C FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 429,625 6/1935 Great Britain 273/142 HA 390,763 8/1965 Switzerland 273/142 HA 536,011 3/1955 Belgium .1 273/138 R Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant ExaminerArnold W. Kramer [57] ABSTRACT A plurality of of indicia bearing discs are rotatably supported in a windowed casing. The discs are indexed by ratchet wheels and pawls, Manual turning of a handle against spring tension in one direction moves the pawls in a circular arc with the pawls moving the ratchet wheels and discs therewith. The pawls on nearing the end of their circular arc contact one end of a pivoted timer lever having a suction cup thereon so as to press the suction cup against the casing. When the handle is released, the spring tension moves the pawls in the opposite direction with the pawls moving the ratchet wheels and discs therewith. On the pawls nearing the end of their circular arc in this opposite direction, they contact the other end of the suction held timer lever and are pivoted out of contact with the ratchet wheels which lets the discs spin freely, On sufficient air entering the suction cup through a adjustable air valve, the suction cup releases, thereby pivoting the timer lever out of contact with the pawls which then let the pawls pivot into contact with the ratchet wheels to index the discs. A knob controlled cam may be utilized to pivot one of the pawls out of engagement with its ratchet wheel so that seond handle can be used to rotate the disc associated therewith with respect to the other indexed discs.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PLURAL ROTATABLE DISCS CHANCE DEVICE This invention relates to a game device which is adaptable to any one ofa number of specific games but which can be utilized for and is disclosed in connection with games which simulate the reading and interpretation of playing cards.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a game device having one or more rotary members which can be spun by the player, the rotary members having a given number of indicia spaces thereon each bearing the identification of a playing card and preferably having additional indicia thereon related to card interpretation or reading wherein, upon the completion of a spin cycle, one of the indicia spaces will be viewable through a window in the casing of the device and means is provided for precisely registering or indexing an indicia space relative to the window.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device having more than one rotary member wherein one of the members is separately and independently rotatable relative to the other or others.

Another object is to provide a game device comprising a plurality of rotary members, all rotatable by a single knob or turning device and also in another arrangement whereby one or more of the rotary members is selectively rotatable by a particular knob, or whereby they all can be rotated by another knob.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for engaging a pawl with a ratchet wheel to rotate it with the rotary member where improved means is provided for selectively engaging and disengaging the pawl to provide for free rotation of the ratchet and its rotary member after a turning force has been applied thereo.

Still another object is to provide a timing device which, after the ratchet and its rotary member have been rotated and the pawl disengaged therefrom, the timing device will not only reengage the pawl with the ratchet after rotation has stopped, but will cause the pawl to engage the ratchet and cause the ratchet and rotary device to move in either direction slightly to produce precise registration or indexing of a space carrying certain indicia relative to the viewing window.

The above and other objects will more fully appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken approximately on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail taken approximately on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken ap proximately on the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 and showing the ratchet driving pawl and a control cam and lever therefor in alternate positions in full and broken lines;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with portions broken away and with the pawl and its control means in position preparatory to imparting rotation to the ratchet;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 illustrating the pawl at the end of its ratchet rotating stroke and disengaged from the ratchet;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating a single rotating knob arrangement; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view in vertical section ofa portion of another embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing there is shown a housing 10 of an embodiment of the invention, the housing including a bottom 12, sides 14 and a top panel 16. The top panel is provided with a plurality of viewing windows 18 disposed in a circular path which path is followed by three flat wheel-like rings A. B and C, portions of which are shown in plan in FIG. 3. Rings B and C are divided into indicia spaces 20 and 22, each bearing the identification of a playing card and preferably also having interpretation statements therein relating to the specific card, such statements not being shown for purposes of simplification. The inner ring A has indicia spaces 24 and also additional spaces 26 bearing distinctive colors. A window 28 in the top or cover 16 is so positioned that the colored indicia spaces 26 on the inner ring A are viewable therethrough.

The housing bottom 12 supports a cylindrical casing 30 having a top 32. Extending upwardly through the top 32 of the casing 30 is a hub 34 upon which is mounted a disc 36 having a plurality of uprights 38 supporting the outer ring C. The hub 34 has an integral flange or collar 40 rotatably supported on bearings 42. The bearings 42 rest upon a flange 44 on a hub 46 which supports a disc 48, the latter in turn supporting the intermediate indicia bearing ring B. A hub 50 supports a disc 52 which around its outer edge is provided with the ring A of indicia bearing spaces. Hub 50 has a flange 54 which extends upwardly through the cover 16 of the housing 10 and has a rotary knob 56 secured thereon by a set screw 58.

Within the knob 56 and hub flange 54 is a sleeve 60 which extends downwardly in the casing 30 and is connected by a set screw 62 to a ratchet wheel 64 having ratchet teeth 66 thereabout. Within the sleeve 60 is a sleeve 68 which extends through a turning knob 70 and is secured thereto by a set screw 72. Sleeve 68 extends downwardly through sleeve 60 to the lower inner part of the casing 30 where it is secured by a set screw 74 to a lever 76 adapted to be rotated by knob 70. Lever 76 carries a pin 78 which extends through a stop arm 80 having a notch 82 formed in an end portion thereof. Stop arm 80 extends generally radially from a hub 82' which is suitably mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of sleeves 60 and 68. A spring coil 84 has an end 86 anchored in a horizontal partition 88 in the casing 30. The spring has its other end 90 anchored in a radial extension 92 of the hub 82.

Above the horizontal partition 88 is a ratchet wheel 94 having teeth 96. This ratchet wheel is mounted on the hub sleeve 44 of the hub 46 which supports the disc 48 and the intermediate bearing ring B. Just above the ratchet wheel 94 is a ratchet wheel 98 having teeth 100. This ratchet wheel is mounted upon the hub sleeve 40 of the hub 34 for rotation therewith and with the disc 36 on hub 34 which supports the outer indicia bearing ring C.

A lever 102 is suitably mounted on a shaft 104 which extends upwardly through the sleeve 68 upon which the knob 70 is mounted. Shaft 104 is rotatable independently of sleeve 68 and at its top carries a knob 106 for rotating the same. Lever 102 is in the form of a cam as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, and is adapted to bear against a lever arm 108 as shown in FIG. 6. When the shaft 104 is rotated counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 6, the cam lever 102 will swing the lever arm 108 in a counter-clockwise direction, rotating a shaft 110 which carries ratchet pawls 112, 114 and 116. The pawl 112 being illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. The pawls are urged by coil springs 118 in a clockwise direction to bias the pawls 112, 114, 116 toward the ratchet teeth on the respective ratchet wheels 64, 94 and 98. However, with respect to ratchet 64 and its pawl 112, when the knob 106 is rotated counter-clockwise. the cam lever 102 will swing the lever arm 108 and pawl 112 counter-clockwise to disengage that pawl from its ratchet wheel 64. When this has been done, the knob 56 can be rotated to rotate disc 52 with its indicia spaces comprising the ring A, such rotation being independent of rings B and C.

All of the wheel-like rings A, B and C can be rotated by the knob 70 by turning that knob counterclockwise. It will likewise rotate the arm 76, pin 78 and stop arm 80 counter-clockwise to store power in the spring 84. After about a quarter of a turn in a counter-clockwise direction, knob 70 is released and the spring 84 will return the stop arm 80 to the position shown in FIG. 5. At the same time, the stop arm 80 which is suitably rotatably mounted upon sleeve 68, along with the lever 76, will cause the pawl supporting shaft 110 and the pawls 112, 114 and 116 to move counter-clockwise from the position of FIG. and 7 to the position of FIG. 6 and when the knob knob 70 is released, the spring 84 will cause the pawls and supporting shaft 110 to move clockwise through approximately 90 while the pawls are in engagement with their respective ratchet wheels.

When the pawls reach the end of their power stroke in their movement from the position of FIG. 6 to that of FIG. 7, they will strike a surface 120 on one leg of an angular lever 122 supported on a pivot 124 carried by a pair of lugs 126 mounted on the inner side wall of the casing 30. This will cause the pawls 110 to rock slightly counter-clockwise to disengage them from the ratchet teeth permitting the ratchet wheels and their respective rotating wheel-like members and indicia bearing rings to rotate under the inertia imparted by the spring 84 and gradually come to a stop.

The lever 122 is part of a timer, the essential portions of which are mounted on the opposite end of the lever from the bearing face 120. A rubber or plastic suction cup 128 is suitably secured to the lever arm 130 of lever 122. It has a concave surface 132 which is adapted to bear against the face of a block 134 mounted in the side wall of the casing 30. The block 134 has a port 136 formed therein, said port being in communication with a internally threaded bore 138 carrying a set screw 140 which functions as a bleeder valve. When the set screw 140 is turned into the block toward the port 136, air leakage past the screw is at a minimum, and when the screw is turned outwardly in a direction away from the port 36, a greater amount of air leakage is permitted past said screw 140.

When the mechanism is cocked by counterclockwise movement of the stop arm 80 moving supporting shaft 110 and pawls 112, 114 and 116 against the action of spring 84, the pawls will engage the lever arm 130 and press the suction cup 128 outwardly against the block 134, deforming the suction cup and reducing the amount of air between the concave face 132 of the cup and the contacted face of the block 134. Then when the knob 70 is released to permit spring 84 to swing stop arm 80 and moving support shaft 110 and the pawls in a clockwise direction from the position of FIG. 6 to that of FIG. 7, air will leak past the valve screw 140 at a controlled rate. The screw is so adjusted that after the pawls have contacted the lever arm face 120 and been moved out of contact with their respective ratchet wheels and the ratchet wheels have come to rest, the suction cup 128 will have received enough air through the port 136 to balance the pressures on the inside ofthe cup and the outside thereof so that the cup will no longer adhere to the block 34, the lever arm will assume the position of FIG. 5 and the pawl springs l 18 will bias the pawls from the broken to the full line position thereof in FIG. 5 to cause the pawls to engage their respective ratchet wheels.

The ratchet wheels 64, 94 and 98 have teeth in number equal to the number ofindicia spaces 20, 22 and 24 on the respective wheel-like rings C, B and A. When the ratchet wheels and their rotary members have stopped after a spin cycle and the pawls are back into engagement with the ratchet teeth, the pawl springs 118 are sufficiently strong to force the pawls into the valleys between the ratchet teeth. Depending upon the precise positioning of each ratchet wheel at this point, its respective pawl will cause the ratchet wheel to move slightly in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, and when the pawl is seated in the valley between a pair of teeth, the indicia spaces on the rings A, B and C will be properly aligned or indexed relative to the viewing windows 18 and 28.

With reference to the operation of the stop lever 80, it should be noted that the casing 30 has a stop element 142 thereon to limit the clockwise movement of the stop lever and the pawls under the urging of the spring 84. It should be noted that the inertia ofthe three rotatable members 36, 48 and 52 and the withdrawl of the pawls 112, 114 and 116, as indicated in FIG. 7, will cause the ratchet wheels 64 and the rotatable members 36, 48 and 52 to continue to rotate and gradually come to rest after the stop lever 80 has engaged the stop lever 42.

In FIG. 8 there is shown a modification wherein there is only one rotatable knob 144 in place of the two knobs 56 and and the cam actuating knob 106. A shaft 104A similar to shaft 104 in the previous embodiment supports a stop lever A and it is actuated by a spring 84A to rotate ratchet wheels 64A, 94A and 98A. These wheels are rotated by pawls 112A and 114A and 116A in the same manner as in the preceding embodiment and the pawls are withdrawn from the ratchet wheels and permitted to reengage them by the same type of'timed lever action as that shown in FIGS. 5 through 7. The only portion of this structure which is shown in FIG. 8 is the lever 122A and the stop screw valve 123A.

Inasmuch as mechanism similar to cam lever 102 and lever arm 108 are eliminated in FIG. 8, the pawl 112A cannot be shifted from engagement with the ratchet wheel manually as is done with the knob 106 on the shaft 104. In other words, this is a simplified form of the structure shown in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 9 there is shown another modification. Whereas the housing 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 lies generally horizontally, and the rotational axes of the several rotational members are vertical, in FIG. 9 the rotational axis is horizontal. There is shown a cover housing 146 which supports a sleeve 148 in which is a shaft 150 having a turning knob on its outer end. Mounted on the sleeve 148 are'ratchet wheels 162, 164, 166 and 168 engaged by pawls 170 which are urged toward the wheels by springs 172 in the manner of the first described embodiment of the invention. Ratchet wheel 162 has a disc 174 mounted thereon for rotation therewith and the outer portion thereof rotates behind a bullseye 176 through which indicia can be viewed comparable to that viewed through the window 28 of FIG. 1. The other ratchet wheels 164, 166 and 168 have discs 178 mounted thereon for rotation therewith. Each of the discs 178 has a collar or flange 180 extending thereabout and they carry indicia spaces comparable to the indicia spaces 20, 22 and 24 of FIG. 3 in the first embodiment, and these indicia spaces are viewable through windows 182 in the upper portion of the cover housing 146.

Whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 4 there was included but one torsion spring 84 for imparting rotation to the several rotary members of that embodiment, in FIG. 9 l provide an individual torsion spring 184 for each of the rotary members. This is necessitated by the fact that the several ratchet wheels 162, 164, 166 and 168, etc. are separated from each other by the rotary discs 174 and 178, and the pawl supporting arms 186 cannot be connected by a means, such as the pawl supporting shaft 110 in the first embodiment of FIG. 4. Likewise, each of the assemblies in FIG. 9 has a separate lever 188 which functions in the manner of the lever 122 with its suction cup 128 and air valve screw 140. All of this comparable structure is not shown because it is essentially the same except duplicated. However, a stop screw 190 is shown to limit counterclockwise movement of the levers 188 in the same manner as a stop screw 123 limits the movement of the timer lever 122 of the first embodiment.

The torsion springs 184 each have one end 192 anchored to a pin 194 whose inner end is mounted in the sleeve 148 which rotates with shaft 150, and the other end of each spring 184 is anchored at 196 in a suitable aperture in its respective pawl supporting arm 186. When knob 160 is rotated approximately a quarter of a turn counter-clockwise, it will load the springs 184 to move the pawls 170 to a cocked position in engagement with the several ratchet wheels, and when said knob is released, the several springs 184 will impart rotary motion to their respective ratchet wheels and through them to the rotary members 174 and 178. Likewise, as in connection with the first embodiment, the levers 188 and the timers associated therewith will withdraw the pawls from their ratchets until after rotation has ceased and the timer lever will then cause the pawls to reengage the ratchets and index them into proper position so that the indicia spaces on the rotary members will properly line up with the viewing windows. It is a device wherein one or more of the rotary members can be selectively and independently rotated relative to the others, or where a plurality of rotary members can be rotated simultaneously but their relative positions can and do change due to the fact that the rotary members when moved through the rotational cycle are not connected and rotate independently. It is a device which gives an infinite number of relative positions of the indicia bearing spaces so that games when played with the apparatus retain their attraction because it is impossible to anticipate what combinations of indicia spaces will appear in the viewing windows.

The means provided for withdrawing the pawls from their respective ratchet wheels insures more free rotation of the several rotary members and eliminates the noise accompanied by the drag of a pawl over a ratchet during the spin cycle, and also provides for reentry of the pawl between a space between two ratchet teeth to insure indexing of the indicia spaces to positions in registry with their several viewing windows,

It will of course be understood that various changes can be made in the forms, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A game device comprising a casing, shaft means rotatably mounted in said casing, a set of ratchet wheels independently rotatably mounted on said shaft means, a set of overlying indiciaed flat discs rotatably mounted for independent rotational movement, means interconnecting a ratchet wheel with a respective one of said discs for rotational movement therewith, a pawl support mounted in said casing for rotary orbital movement in an arcuate path about said shaft means, a pawl for each ratchet wheel pivotally mounted on said pawl support, spring means for biasing each pawl into engagement with its associated ratchet wheel, means interconnecting said shaft means and said pawl support for conjoint movement, a handle for rotating said shaft means in one direction, spring motor means in said casing energized by rotation of said shaft means in said one direction, a timer mechanism including a timer lever means pivotally mounted in said casing and a suction means carried by a first end of said timer lever means and having a suction face, said casing having wall means against which said suction face is adapted to pressingly adhere, whereby on rotation of said shaft means in said one direction, the support for the pawls is orbited thereby moving said pawls, ratchet wheels and discs in said one direction with movement of the pawls into engagement with said first end of the timer lever means pressing the suction face of the suction means against the casing wall means as the spring motor means is energized, said casing wall means having a controlled air passage to admit atmospheric air that acts on the suction means whereby when the handle is released and the shaft means rotates in the opposite direction under action of the spring motor means, the pawl support, ratchet wheels and discs are rotated therewith in said opposite direction, the pawls being so constructed as to engage a second end of said timer lever means upon said opposite rotation to thereby pivot said pawls against the bias of their associated spring means out of engagement with said ratchet wheels to thereby allow continued free rotation of said ratchet wheels and discs, and means for immediately thereafter stopping the opposite rotation of said pawl support, whereby when the suction means becomes disengaged from the casing wall by the action of atmospheric air the spring means for the pawls moves said second end of said timer lever means and biases the pawls into indexing engagement with the ratchet wheels.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said shaft means includes a main shaft and said interconnecting means between the ratchet wheels and the discs includes sleeves rotatably mounted on said main shaft, one of said sleeves having an individual knob.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said main shaft is a hollow sleeve and further including a solid shaft rotatable therethrough, said solid shaft having a knob at one end and a cam at the other end, and a lever arm pivotal with respect to said pawl support whereby on rotation of said solid shaft in said one direction said cam pivots said lever arm thereby releasing the pawl of the ratchet wheel of the disc associated with said individual knob whereby said disc can be manually and in dividually indexed with respect to the others of said discs.

on the faces of the discs. 

1. A game device comprising a casing, shaft means rotatably mounted in said casing, a set of ratchet wheels independently rotatably mounted on said shaft means, a set of overlying indiciaed flat discs rotatably mounted for independent rotational movement, means interconnecting a ratchet wheel with a respective one of said discs for rotational movement therewith, a pawl support mounted in said casing for rotary orbital movement in an arcuate path about said shaft means, a pawl for each ratchet wheel pivotally mounted on said pawl support, spring means for biasing each pawl into engagement with its associated ratchet wheel, means interconnecting said shaft means and said pawl support for conjoint movement, a handle for rotating said shaft means in one direction, spring motor means in said casing energized by rotation of said shaft means in said one direction, a timer mechanism including a timer lever means pivotally mounted in said casing and a suction means carried by a first end of said timer lever means and having a suction face, said casing having wall means against which said suction face is adapted to pressingly adhere, whereby on rotation of said shaft means in said one direction, the support for the pawls is orbited thereby moving said pawls, ratchet wheels and discs in said one direction with movement of the pawls into engagement with said first end of the timer lever means pressing the suction face of the suction means against the casing wall means as the spring motor means is energized, said casing wall means having a controlled air passage to admit atmospheric air that acts on the suction means whereby when the handle is released and the shaft means rotates in the opposite direction under action of the spring motor means, the pawl support, ratchet wheels and discs are rotated therewith in said opposite direction, the pawls being so constructed as to engage a second end of said timer lever means upon said opposite rotation to thereby pivot said pawls against the bias of their associated spring means out of engagement with said ratchet wheels to thereby allow continued free rotation of said ratchet wheels and discs, and means for immediately thereafter stopping the opposite rotation of said pawl support, whereby when the suction means becomes disengaged from the casing wall by the action of atmospheric air the spring means for the pawls moves said second end of said timer lever means and biases the pawls into indexing engagement with the ratchet wheels.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said shaft means includes a main shaft and said interconnecting means between the ratchet wheels and the discs includes sleeves rotatably mounted on said main shaft, one of said sleeves having an individual knob.
 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said main shaft is a hollow sleeve and further including a solid shaft rotatable therethrough, said solid shaft having a knob at one end and a cam at the other end, and a lever arm pivotal with respect to said pawl support whereby on rotation of said solid shaft in said one direction said cam pivots said lever arm thereby releasing the pawl of the ratchet wheel of the disc associated with said individual knob whereby said disc can be manually and individually indexed with respect to the others of said discs.
 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said discs are of successively greater diameter and have faces provided with indicia, said casing being a housing for said discs having a wall overlying the faces of the discs and provided with openings to expose the indicia.
 5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said ratchet wheels have teeth in number equal to the indicia on the discs with such indicia being arranged in a circular path on the faces of the discs. 